Chapter 1015: Chapter 709: It’s Her_2
"Go on," Yang Xiao remained unmoved.
"Now we know that every person chosen will be pulled by the female ghost into the past, returning to the haunted hospital. If they fail to complete a certain task, they will die there, and their bodies will be discarded like trash."
"I don’t know about Xiao Yaqin, but Yu Kai was certainly no pushover, and he died too, which proves how dangerous it is there. I think even Mr. Chu wouldn’t be confident of surviving the female ghost’s pursuit."
"Continue, I’m listening."
"The next person to receive the Ghost Bell might be me, or it could be you. But the information about the hospital is too scarce. Even the two of us, going there would most likely result in death. So, I think we could use the item in your backpack."
Qu Hong glanced at Yang Xiao’s ever-present backpack and continued, "We’ve all seen the tape. I have a hypothesis. If, just hypothetically, you were the next to receive the Ghost Bell, then what would I do? I would take your bell and tie it to Dou Jie or Xi Huijun, letting them die in place of my friends."
"But you know, placing our hopes on them is a fool’s dream. That’s why I need the Geisha Face you have."
"By spiritually projecting you or me into their bodies, we can control them to explore that mysterious world. Even if we fail, they die, and you and I would return with clues from that world, greatly improving our chances next time."
"Miss Qu, I won’t stop you from doing what you want, but I have my own plans. As for that mask, it’s our shared property, meaning you have a share too. What you want to do with it is none of my business," Yang Xiao responded.
Qu Hong squinted her eyes, smiling contentedly, "Mr. Chu, you’re incredibly kind-hearted, worthy of being part of the Patrol Defense Office. Don’t worry, once we leave here, I won’t spill a word. You’ll continue being an official, and I’ll continue being a bounty hunter."
Adjusting his coat, Yang Xiao turned and walked to the car, "The wind’s picking up, let’s go back and rest."
Back in the car, he lay back in the passenger seat, closing his eyes as he continually replayed his conversation with Captain Zhou in his mind. Unfortunately, at the crucial moment, their communication was cut off, just when it concerned the identity of the female ghost.
Captain Zhou had said he discovered the ghost’s identity, "We...we found out... she is... she is....." Those were Captain Zhou’s last words in Yang Xiao’s memory.
"She is..."
"Is..."
Chewing over these few words repeatedly, Yang Xiao sensed something was off. Why use the word "is" there?
This didn’t match usual language habits. If it were Yang Xiao, he would have directly named who the woman was.
When would one use "is" to describe someone? After thinking for a few seconds, Yang Xiao’s mind suddenly flashed, unless... unless the woman was someone he and Captain Zhou had both seen or known.
But their teams were in different worlds, different areas, and different timelines. There were only a few common links, who could they have both seen?
The next second, Yang Xiao’s eyes shot open. He knew the woman... he had indeed seen her, the woman from the high-paying surrogate mother scam ad in the script box!
That model!!
It had to be her!
Yang Xiao woke the already asleep Qu Hong and, after explaining his suspicion, Qu Hong agreed with his thoughts. It seemed likely that the woman had also been in the hospital, and Yin Kun had most probably caused her death.
Boss Sun had once said he saw a young woman dressed in white and blue striped clothes while on the road. These clothes were hospital gowns, meaning the woman had been hospitalized here, a patient of this hospital.
The clues were piecing together bit by bit. The immediate priority was to determine what exactly happened to the woman during her hospitalization.
The next morning, Yang Xiao led a team into the hospital twice, returning to the 3rd-floor nurse station, attempting to communicate with Captain Zhou and his team, but failed both times. The communication console in the lounge showed no reaction, and no red light came on.
Yang Xiao guessed that perhaps they could only be contacted at night, as the red light in the clue photos also showed a dark background.
If that were the case, there was no reason to waste time anymore. Yang Xiao quickly marked the hospital’s floor structure and room numbers, noting the precise locations of the barred gates and nurse stations, knowing that tonight, more people would be taken there by the female ghost.
After finishing, Yang Xiao had Boss Sun drive them into the city to find a decent restaurant for a meal, then they set off to buy food, medical supplies, plenty of flashlights, thick clothing for nightly warmth, and even bought two quilts.
Of course, Boss Sun paid for all these. After counting the items, they drove to a small motel, checked in, and fell soundly asleep, having exhausted themselves without a proper rest since the ordeal began.
They slept until 3 PM, tidied up briefly, had a simple meal, and then set off again, returning to Deren Mental Hospital. On the way, Yang Xiao asked Boss Sun about the task he had been assigned to investigate, to which he responded that there was no news yet.
That was expected; Yang Xiao inferred that the hospital had surely experienced a paranormal event, and such incidents were often erased from official records, remembered only in archives controlled by specialized departments dealing with these matters.
However, Yang Xiao underestimated Boss Sun’s connections. Shortly after their return to the hospital, Boss Sun received a very respectful call.
After hanging up, Boss Sun turned to inform them that the hospital had experienced a severe outbreak of an infectious disease years ago, wiping out all the patients and the remaining medical staff overnight.
"All dead?" Xi Huijun displayed an incredulous expression.
Boss Sun nodded, "Yes, all dead. I confirmed it, not a single survivor."
Indeed, Yang Xiao felt he was right. What kind of infectious disease could decimate an entire hospital, including on-duty medical staff, overnight? It wasn’t plausible. The only explanation was a mass paranormal event.
"The date?" Yang Xiao asked.
Boss Sun was momentarily confused, "What?"
"The date!" Yang Xiao emphasized, "The exact date when the paranormal outbreak occurred."
Boss Sun "oh-oh-oh’d" several times, immediately redialing the previous call. This time, he finally confirmed it was the night of May 14th that year.
The final recorded time in the logbook found at the service window last night was May 14th too.
It matched up...
The sky quickly darkened completely. At 8 PM sharp, Yang Xiao’s group, each equipped with a flashlight and a spare one, re-entered the hospital, heading straight for the 3rd-floor nurse station’s duty desk.
This time, after Yang Xiao connected the callbox, a red dot silently lit up in the lounge behind them, and simultaneously, static buzzed from the ancient speaker of the callbox.
"This is Chu Xi, do you read me?"
"Can you hear me? This is Chu Xi, do you read me?"
Before entering, Yang Xiao had carefully arranged roles, assigning everyone to guard a direction, leaving the most dangerous lounge for Qu Hong to watch over.
After several inquiries, Captain Zhou’s voice finally came through amidst the static, "This...Zzz... Zhou Chengyi... receiving..."
"What is the exact date on your side?" Yang Xiao pressed the callbox tightly, urging.
"Zzz...Zzz..."
"Zzz..."
"May...zzz... May 12..."
